The present invention relates to a reel for receiving thereon a metallic filament such as steel cord, steel wire or the like, and more specifically, to a metallic-filament take-up reel adapted to retain, inside a flange thereof, a trailing end portion of a metallic filament wound on a drum thereof.
A typical one of the prior-art metallic-filament take-up reels is shown in FIG. 1. The take-up reel is generally indicated with R.sub.0. To retain a trailing end portion W.sub.a of a metallic filament wound on a winding drum (not shown), the take-up reel R.sub.0 has a hole 32 formed in a flange 31 thereof near a circumferential edge 33 of the flange 31 and through which a metallic filament is led out at the trailing end thereof from inside the flange 31. The lead-out hole 32 is somewhat larger in diameter than the metallic filament. A clip-like retainer A is provided fixed to the circumferential edge 33 on the outer side of the flange 31 and in the vicinity of the lead-out hole 32. In this metallic-filament take-up reel R.sub.0, the end portion W.sub.a of the metallic filament wound on the winding drum is led out through the hole 32 and retained by the clip-like retainer A. However, it is time consuming to retain the metallic filament W.sub.a using the retainer A. The existence of the end portion W.sub.a of the metallic filament retained on the outer side of the flange 31 is also an impediment to handling in transport or storage of the take-up reel R.sub.0. To unwind the metallic filament, the end portion W.sub.a thereof has to be released from the retainer A and pulled back to the winding drum through the lead-out hole 32, which is very troublesome and requires much labor.
The extremity of the cut end portion W.sub.a of many stranded metallic filaments such as steel cord or the like is often not solidly stranded. To insert such metallic filament into the lead-out hole 32, the extremity of the end portion W.sub.a thereof has to be corrected for easy insertion. Therefore, guiding of the end portion W.sub.a into the lead-out hole 32 cannot be automated but has to be manually done, which adds much to the winding work.
To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, it has been proposed to use a novel take-up reel in which the trailing end portion of a metallic filament wound thereon can be retained inside a flange thereof. This metallic-filament take-up reel will be discussed below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. This reel is generally indicated with R.sub.1. The reel R.sub.1 is provided with two flanges 21. At least one of the flanges 21 has an access hole 22 formed therein, and also has fixed thereto a resilient retainer B composed of a hook portion 23 which retains a metallic filament, a base portion 24 and an intermediate portion 25 extending contiguously between the hook and base portions 23 and 24. The retainer B is secured at the base portion 24 thereof to the flange 21. To retain the end portion W.sub.a of a metallic filament, the hook portion 23 is bent as pushed and protruded through the access hole 21 to inside the flange 21. As shown, the metallic filament W.sub.a is caught and retained between the outer surface of the hook portion 23 and the inner surface of the flange 21. This metallic-filament take-up reel R.sub.1 functions well but is disadvantageous in some respects.
One of the disadvantages lies in the adhesion of the base portion 24 of the retainer B to the flange 21. To retain a metallic filament on the flange, the hook portion 23 of the retainer B is to be pushed into the access hole 22 in the flange 21 until it protrudes from the inner side of the flange 21 to a sufficient extent to receive the metallic filament between the inner surface of the flange 21 and the outer surface of the hook portion 23. The metallic filament is thus retained on the flange inner surface under the resilience of the retainer B. For a secure retention of the metallic filament, the retainer B should have a large resilience. In this case, a great force has to be applied to the highly resilient retainer B to move the hook portion 23 to inside the flange 21. In turn, however, the high resilience will create a large counter-force acting on the retainer B, namely, on the base portion 24 which may thus possibly be separated from the flange 21.
Secondly, spot welding, if employed to fix the base portion 24 to the outer surface of the flange 21, is likely to cause a deflection of the retainer B, resulting in a larger or smaller retention by the retainer B or an uneven contact of the hook portion 23 with a metallic filament. Such deflection will present adequate retention of the metallic filament.
Thirdly, the base portion 24 is fixed to the flange 21 and elaborately positioned on the flange 21 for the hook portion 23 of the retainer B to smoothly pass through the access hole 22. For the take-up reel R.sub.1, however, the positioning needs much labor and time, which makes it difficult to manufacture the take-up reels R.sub.1 at reduced costs.
Moreover, to facilitate the fixation of the retainer B to the flange 21, the access hole 22 is located at a position where it is easily seen from outside the flange 21, namely, at a position nearer to the winding drum. Therefore, only a limited length of the metallic filament can be wound on the winding drum of the reel R.sub.1.